Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Gila!

Author: Kathryn Ptacek

Narrator: Lou Hecker

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-04-12

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Horror

Publisher's Summary:

Harkening back to the days of giant creature movies of the 1950s, a horde of giant Gila Monsters is on the loose in New Mexico, threatening every living creature in sight. Nothing and no one is safe from the ravenous creatures as they tear their way through the desert and into heavily populated areas. Can these atomically mutated creatures be stopped? Or is this the beginning of the end for mankind? It's up to Chato del-Klinne and Dr. Kate Dwyer to kick the hiss out of the oversized lizards!

From the mind of Kathryn Ptacek, writing under her Les Simons pen name, comes a tale of grisly horror with man being the hunted and Mother Nature being the hunter.

Members Reviews:

Giant Gila Monsters In New Mexico

Kathryn Ptacek's novel of giant lizards in New Mexico is tailor-made for those of us who consider ourselves sci-fi and monster fans. The monsters--mutant Gilas spawned by radiation--are certainly malevolent enough, and the numerous attack scenes as they embark on a rampage which begins in a small desert town and methodically moves toward bigger cities are well-described in all their gory glory. Ptacek knows the genre and what its fans want, and if her book offers nothing especially innovative, it doesn't really need to since it follows a successful formula so well.

But while the book is a stylistic success with a good plot, it does suffer from a couple of unfortunate weaknesses. The main character and her boyfriend are an extremely unlikeable pair. Arrogant, vain, narcissistic, and seemingly much more interested in making out over and again than in saving Nevada from being devoured by the eponymous monsters, neither one of them ever evokes much empathy from the reader. At times I was wondering if Ptacek actually made her protagonists unlikeable on purpose, but if so it was a bad idea. Ultimately, the two heroes prove to be a lot dumber than they think they are, too, which makes for an interesting but not altogether satisfying twist at the end.

Gila! is definitely a fun book thanks to the author's solid writing skills and a fun, exciting plot that could make a great movie. But it would have been even more enjoyable if the author had given us more sympathetic main characters and a better realized climax. Even so, I think most fans of classic giant monster tales will enjoy it.

Retro Monster Goodness

I've been a fan of Kathryn Ptacek's writing for years and was delighted to see the return one of my favorite, GILA! Giant monsters created by atomic fallout, death and destruction...and a wicked sense of fun. Yeah...count me in.

Gila Monster Mayhem

I'll make this review short and to the point; fans of these pulp horror books already know what to expect. Giant gila monsters invade New Mexico. All the while a herpetologist is on the case, all the while falling in love with an old colleague. There's also a subplot involving the governor trying to cover up the gila monsters' existence, until he concludes his involvement in their destruction could appeal to voters. How's the writing? Not bad. It isn't spectacular enough to make it stand out from other pulp novels, but it gets the job done. Are there numerous attacks? Yes, this book is full of gila monster mayhem. Sex? Yep. In summary, it's everything pulp horror fans should want and expect.